Getting High on Sobriety!
I've heard it said that the brain contains natural opiates which, gram for gram, are more powerful than morphine. My personal experience with this has been upon awakening from a deep sleep. In the interval between sleep and full consciousness it seems as if I am high on some substance. This is without any alcohol or other medication, for I have been sober for nearly 22 years. It's sort of a warm, fuzzy, contented feeling that all's right with the world.
And then I think back to what happened in my alcoholic days. From what I've read, it's likely that the opioid recepters in my nerve cells atrophied what with having to adapt to all that alcohol, and the various neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin and the like) very likely got all mixed up trying to cope with the situation. This led to increasing tolerance for booze and the growing inability get any "buzz" from drinking, so that I had to drink just to feel normal. After I quit it must have taken years and years to get the stuff in my brain back to normal but now I'm pretty sure, from the buzz I get sometimes when I wake up from a deep sleep, that things may be back functioning pretty well. And, as a bonus, I'm usually very happy. Have darker moods now and then but they don't last. Lots of interests- dogs, books, music.
How come I messed up and didn't figure all this out years ago? I had the "information" but nobody ever got sober from reading books. Sometimes it just takes a kick in the butt and even then a lot of determination and help from others, including a higher power. Well, better late than never, as they say!
Wpainterw
Last edited by wpainterw; 09-09-2010 at 02:51 PM.
Reason: Inserted a comma